I can't really explain this feeling
by oOContactHighoO
Summary: Hey guys, I actually got a new account and will be re-writing this story, so, yeah. New account name is RinRinQuin, and I'll be keeping it that way. Keep an eye out if you're interested in finding out what happens!
1. Stupid Uchiha

"Ah, man," yawned a relieved yound Nara, "I thought recess wasn't ever gonna get here. These classes are such a drag." He wasn't speaking to himself, he was speaking to his best friend, Akimichi Chouji. Chouji, a rather plump young boy, simply nodded while scarfing down a handful of chips.

"Shikamaru, you want some?" asked Chouji.

"Seriously, not every single break has to be a snack break, you know what I mean?" Shikamaru replied lazily. Chouji simply shrugged and continued his snack. The young Nara yawned and stood up from his seat. 'Might as well go outside and sleep.' He told himself. So, he walked out the class room and down the hall. 'Not again,' He mentally whined, 'I really need to start leaving before that Uchiha kid. Having to push past all those screeching fangirls crowding the hallway is to much work.' But, he continued anyway. Once he reach his destination, outside, he skimmed the area for a decent place to rest, one where he could observe the clouds, just in case the wasn't able to sleep due to the noise that always accompanied recess time. 'Gotta find a place where Chouji can find me, too.' He reminded himself. Even though Chouji didn't follow him, he'd always be somewhere where the boy could find him, he knew that Chouji would eventually stop eating and come find him. Then, he spotted the perfect spot. He made his way there and layed down under the tree, shading him from the sun. Luckily, he could still spot the clouds threw the branches.

"Sasukeee-kun!" 'Dammit!' Shikamaru cursed, 'I thought I was far enough away from that group of troublesome girls.' He sat up and watched what the 'genius' Uchiha was doing, maybe it was something that was actually amazing. But, of course, it wasn't anything amazing, at all. The boy sighed, 'those girls get worked up over nothing. Uchiha is just sitting there. How is that anything special? I'm sitting too. There aren't girls crowded around me,' the boy thought to himself, 'whatever. I feel sympathy for the dude. It's not like anyone would want such a loud group of girls following them.' Shikamaru shifted his position so that his back was leaning against the tree, that way he could observe the antics of all the other students. As usual, the grade above his own was there too. They all had the same recess, it made sense. 'Geez,' he thought, 'even the older girls like this guy? Psh, troublesome females.' He couldn't believe what he just saw, a group of about five older girls joined the fangirl vortex, amazing. He looked to the door that led inside, waiting for Chouji to come out. Chouji wasn't his only friend, in case you were wondering, the Nara had plenty of friends, there was Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, hell, when she wasn't acting completely Sasuke crazy or yelling at him, he considered Ino Yamanaka his friend, one of his best even. Dispite the fact that she acted like she didn't know him, he and Ino had been friends since the day he could remember, probably because her father and his father had been, and still are, best friends. Oh, and then there was that Uzumaki kid, Naruto, even though other kids told him not to talk to the blonde, he still did. Naruto was actually a nice person, other then the fact that he was a bit to loud when Shikamaru got to know him better, he accepted the blonde as a friend. The Nara had enough friends, he just found Chouji a lot more, what was the word, tolerable? The door opened and out came a figure. Much to his dismay, it was a girl that was a year ahead of him, if he wasn't mistaken. 'Another Uchiha fangirl,' he sighed, 'great.' Surprisingly, the girl didn't walk into the mosh pit of fangirls, in fact, when she walked passed them, she yelled something along the lines of "YOU GIRLS DISGUST ME! GO HOME!" She made a face, he guessed it was supposed to be her angry face, clearly she wasn't actually mad because the face she was making didn't make her look all that scary, she looked kind of cute, at least, he thought so. 'Wait,' he mentally slapped himself, 'I did not just think that.' Even more surprising than her yelling at the girls was the fact that she walked right up to Sasuke and stuck her tounge out at him, then she walked away from the loud group. Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh a little, it was the first time he'd actually seen a girl that didn't like Sasuke, well, other then that Hinata Hyuuga girl, but she obviously like Naruto. He closed his eyes, 'I guess Chouji's staying inside today.' He heard someone sit down next to him and huff. He opened one lazy eye and looked at the person, it was the girl. She had brown hair that was tied up in two, perfect, buns.

"Can you believe it?" she spoke, "It's unbelievable! Those girls shouldn't be stalking an ice cube all day! They should be focused on becoming konouchi! That IS what we're here for! It's pathetic. And, what's so great about that kid anyway! He's pale! Like really pale! Pale-er than that jerk Neji! I'm surprised either of those two can come outside and not burst into flames or melt!"

He had both his eyes opened now, he just stared at her, observing her. The way she moved her arms when she spoke was humorous, though, it did make it seem like what she was talking about was absolutley unbelievable. 'Crap!' He scolded himself. He just noticed she was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. What was he supposed to say? He never talked to a girl that bad mouthed the Uchiha, or the Hyuuga. Hell, he never talked to a girl, the only girl he's "talked" to was Ino, and she'd just yell at him or blab on and on about Sasuke. Oh, and then there was his mother, but, did she even count as a girl? 'ANSWER HER!'

"Uh...yeah." he managed to get out. She kept staring at him. 'This is getting kinda awkward..' Shikamaru stared back. She made her "mad" face, still staring at him, and he raised an eyebrow in return, staring in return. They stayed that way, staring at each other for about two minutes, until:

"Hahaha." she burst out laughing.

"What?" he was confused.

"Nothing! That was fun!" she laughed. "My name's TenTen."

He kept staring at her, 'she's weird. TenTen, huh? I'll try to remember that.'

"Ah-hem!" she said, a bit annoyed, "You're supposed to tell me your name."

"Not if I don't want to." he informed her. 'She's a bit bossy...'

"Hmph!" she pouted. He sighed and mumbled "troublesome", 'now I have to tell her...'

"It's Shikamaru." He said plainly, finally looking away so he was facing forward, and closed his eyes.

"Shi-ka-maru..." she slowly said, "Hmmm, yeah, you look like a Shikamaru." He looked at her again, 'is she thinking out loud?'

"Eh, yeah, I hope so." he said, once again looking away and closing his eyes.

"So?" she started. He sighed in frustration, 'why doesn't she leave? It's weird having a girl talk to me, I mean, honestly, I don't know what to do. Do I ignore her? Nah, if mom found out I was being "rude" she'd scold me.' He continued thinking, not opening his eyes, but, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration.

"You think a lot, don't you?"

"...yeah, I guess." he said. He didn't realize that he answered, seeing as he was thinking of ways to actually talk to this girl.

"Ah, I see. You know, you'll be a great stragetist one day?" she smiled, well, at least he thinks she smiled, he could kind of hear it in her voice.

"How old are you?" he asked bluntly, eyes still closed.

"Huh?" she was caught off guard by the off topic question, "I'm eight."

"...alright" he said. 'Ok, she's eight. So, she is definetly a year ahead of me. Ok. TenTen, she's a girl, she's eight, she doesn't like Uchiha or Hyuuga...'

"Uhm, ok. How about you?" she asked.

"...I'm seven." he was still thinking.

"Oh, alright." she said, watching him think. She thought that she might as well leave, seeing as he was so engrossed in his thoughts, but, she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about, so she asked.

"I don't know how to talk to you." he said, as if it was no big deal.

"H-huh?" TenTen was confused now.

"I'm thinking of ways to solve that problem." he stated, eyes not opening, "If I don't figure out a way to talk to you, then you will yell at me for just sitting here and ignoring you, and I've already had the pleasure of my mother trying to yell my ears off when I didn't want to get up to go to school this morning. My ears have suffered enough, I don't want them to suffer more." She giggled at his "problem", he finally opened his eyes and look into her chocolate ones.

"What?" he asked. 'What's up with this girl?'

"You don't know how to talk to me? You're doing perfectly fine right now!" she laughed now. 'She's right,' he realized, 'man, I'm such an idiot.'

"Oh."

"Yeah," she stopped laughing, she was just smiling now, "You don't have to talk to me thinking that I'm gonna yell at you if you say something "wrong", ya know?"

He just stared at her as she got up from the ground and dusted off her pants.

"I may not be a boy, but, I'm definitly not one of them." she said as she pointed to the three girls that had strayed from the fangirl herd and started yelling at Kiba because he "accidentaly" insulted Sasuke. "That poor kid."

"Yeah." Shikamaru said, feeling sympathic for his friend, but, he wasn't going to do anything about it, going over there was to much work.

"Well," she turned around, "I'll be going now. See ya around, Shikamaru."

She left before he even had the chance to say "yeah" or "bye". He watched her walk away, surprisingly enough, she went over to the three girls that had just finished harassing Kiba and started yelling at them, it was something along the lines of "LEAVE HIM ALONE! HE'S ALLOWED TO SAY WHATEVER HE WANTS ABOUT THAT STUCK UP LITTLE UCHIHA OF YOURS!"

Shikamaru had to admit, this girl was...different. 'If she's serious about that "see ya around" thing,' he thought, 'life might get even more troublesome.'


	2. It took years for us to talk again

*Several Years Later*

No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that he didn't care, it bothered the 11-year-old Nara that TenTen wasn't true to her word. 'Well,' he thought to himself one day during lunch break, while looking out the window to the clouds, 'she didn't technically _promise _that she'd see me around. No big deal, really." Yet, everytime he thought of this particular "situation", he'd come across to the same conclusion, 'It's so obvious, Shikamaru!' he scolded himself, 'She thought you were a freak and didn't want to be mean!' Of course, this didn't stop him from thinking about her, even though he'd basically told himself the same thing everyday for about four years. It's not like he hadn't see her around the academy after four years, it's that she hadn't seen him, or so he thought. See, he took the "see ya around" literally, and, as far as he knows, she hasn't seen him around, because if she had, she'd of said something. He'd just stare whenever he saw her during recess, or as the kids his age called it "break time", to him it was still recess, only because some students still ran around and played games. She'd always be doing the same thing, sitting down with that Hyuuga kid and this kid with bushy eyebrows, Lee, was it? Anyway, this confused him even more, 'I thought she hated the Hyuuga,' he thought when he first saw them conversing, he sighed quietly, 'females.' After that day, when he saw them walking together or talking together, he had this strange urge to punch Neji in the face, he'd never do it though, he thought it'd take to much energy and cause problems. But, still, he didn't get it, why was she with Hyuuga? 'Why is she always with Hyuuga?' he thought to himself while observing them during recess, 'More importantly, why do I even fucking care? I barely know her. Whatever.' Out of the three, TenTen and Lee would talk the most and laugh the most, Neji would smirk or speak with no expression on his face. Oddly enough, it was Neji that saw the young Nara staring in TenTen's direction. He leaned in on TenTen's ear. 'What is he gonna do!' Shikamaru freaked. After a second or two he pulled away and started to talk to Lee, TenTen looked towards Shikamaru and smiled, she got up, waved to her friends, and walked towards him. 'Great. She's coming this way.' Shikamaru realized, 'Probably to ask why I was staring at her. What do I say? "Oh, yeah, I've been staring at you during recess everyday for four years, I'm surprised you haven't noticed" God! I'm such a stalker! Why did, or do, I even care what she's doing! Stupid Hyuuga, telling on me. If I decide one day to take my revenge on people, he's so gonna die first. I'm gonna take a kunai and-'

"Hey!" she smiled, not knowing she interupted the mental killing of her friend by Shikamaru.

"...Hey." he said, he decided to close his eyes and try to look like he was thinking.

"Are you thinking about something?"

"Yeah." he replied quickly. She laughed a little. "What?" he asked, opening his eyes and slightlly glaring at her.

"You're not thinking about anything," she said knowingly, "don't try and lie to me."

"How would you know?" he asked, trying not to sound to surprised or offended about the fact that she saw threw what he thought was brilliant lie to get her away, "We've only ever spoken once. That time that I was seven and you randomly came up and started complaining about Uchiha and insulted the Hyuuga over there." He tilted his head towards Neji.

"Huh, You remembered that?" she asked, Shikamaru nodded. "Oh, I just thought that you wouldn't want to talk to me, you looked like you felt awkward." She sat down next to him, back against the tree.

"Well, it didn't and doesn't matter really," he lied to her, or was it to himself? "I perfer being alone with my thoughts whenever I can." So, he closed his eyes, hoping that she would leave before she asked that dreaded question about him staring at her.

"So," 'Oh God, please don't ask!' "Neji said that you kept looking our way. I was wondering. Can you tell me why?" 'SHIT! THE HYUUGA IS SO GONNA DIE!' He mentally paniked, though on the outside he look completely calm and lazy, as he always did, and came up with an excuse.

"..Well, you know. Just blankly staring at things while I think about my mother..." 'What the hell, Shikamaru!' he scolded himself for a pathetic excuse.

"Your mother?" she sounded worried, "Is she alright?" 'Fuck! Now what...'

"Yeah, I mean, the medics said she'd be fine. And, she's been doing really well. Just started yelling me again about a week ago, so, she's fine."

"Hmm, what happened?"

"Sh-she fell," he didn't know why he was telling her this stupid excuse of a lie, but he kept going. His story went something like this: his father took him out to train in his shadow techniques while his mother stayed home to do some spring cleaning, she went up the stairs with a bucket for mop water, and filled up it up in the bathroom, that's upstairs, and when she was coming down, she spilled the water on the top step without noticing, took a step, and slipped, causing her to fall down the stairs.

"I see," TenTen said, "Tell her I hope she gets better," she got up and dusted her pants, "then tell her that I hope she lectures on why lying to people is so bad and that staring is rude, especially if you don't have a valid reason to stare." Shikamaru got a tad bit pale when he heard that last part, if is mother found out that he was lying, about her especially, he'd get a good lecture on morals and values and respecting people, and blah blah blah.

"Uh..." he didn't know what to say. TenTen turned around and looked back at him.

"Oh, and the reason I know that you weren't thinking is because I noticed that everyday, when you actually are, you scrunch up your eyebrows and breathe a little slower than you usually do. See ya around, Shikamaru." she smiled and walked towards Hyuuga and bushy brows.

Shikamaru smirked, 'well, at least I know one more thing about her,' he stared at her, she took her seat next to Neji and laughed at the exaggerated movements that Lee was doing, 'she's been watching me everyday for about four years.'


	3. Never got to say bye

*Weeks Later*

It was the day, the day that TenTen would graduate the academy and be assigned her team. Shikamaru sighed, 'I bet she gets put in a group with Neji and eyebrow dude.' He made a face, 'Tell me again why I care, Shikamaru?' He was currently arguing with himself in the boy's restroom, it was recess time. He'd decided not to go outside because all of his year and her year were conversing with each other, or rather, they were all crowded around the "number one rookie of the year". They'd ask Hyuuga some really stupid questions, like, "What team do you think you'll be put in, Neji-san?" or "How was the final exam, Neji?" or "I hope I'm on your team, Neji-kun!". Of course, that last one wasn't a question and was typically said by females, Shikamaru was sure that if a boy had said that, the Hyuuga would've broken his nose. Shikamaru tried, with all his might, not to kill the other children in his year. 'Honestly, what's the big deal?' He pondered, 'I mean, we're all gonna graduate next year, so, why be so impressed by the fact that Neji is graduating? Lots of kids are graduating, like TenTen. TenTen's graduating...' It had just dawned on him, she wasn't going to be around anymore, this upset him a little, after the day that she, well Neji, caught him staring at her, she'd sit down next to him during recess, that is, if he was alone. When he was with his friends, TenTen would smile at him and quickly walk back to her friends. Kiba noticed the girl walking by and smiling towards them, but, being Kiba, he came to the conclusion that, and I quote, "She wants me." 'As if!' Was what the young Nara thought everytime Kiba said that TenTen "wanted" him, that conclusion was totally ridiculous and not plausible, in anyway, at all. But, of course, Shikamaru wouldn't say anything, knowing that: One, it would damage Kiba's self-esteem, and, two, his friends would pick on him for having a ..."girlfriend". He shuttered at the thought, 'girls are troublesome,' he thought about TenTen, and how it would be like if, one day, they had a romantic sort of relationship, 'especially, TenTen.'

He decided to peer out of the boy's restroom window, just to observe the other children. He shifted his eyes and saw her, TenTen. She was sitting alone, under the tree that he always sat under. She looked...sad. 'Maybe,' he thought for a while, 'I should go over there.' And, he did. The minute he walked out the door, all he could hear was constant chattering or giggling, courtesy of the fangirls squeeling at the sight of a certain Uchiha and Hyuuga giving each other death glares. He easily glided by them, hoping that no one noticed the fact that he rolled his eyes. Then, he was in front of her and he just stood there. 'Does she not notice I'm standing here?' he was confused, and a bit worried.

"Hey." he said plainly as he took a seat next to her, looking in the same direction she was.

"Hi, Shikamaru." she looked at him and smiled. He deducted that it was a fake smile. He thought back to the day they met and the "mad face" she had made, 'she needs to work on her facial expressions if she's planning on fooling anyone.'

"...How's it goin'?" he didn't even know why he cared or what to say, they'd only spoken about...twenty-eight times?

"Fine, I guess."

"I guess?" he questioned looking at her.

"Ok, ok! You got me." she smiled a little, he was cheering her up?

"I did?" 'Way to think before you speak, genius.' Thankfully, she laughed and wiped her eyes with her shirt, then looked at him and smiled.

"Can you believe it?" she asked, looking over at the Uchiha vs Hyuuga death stare match. "Those girls shouldn't be following around ice cubes all day." Shikamaru tried hard not to smile, but, he made sure she knew that he was glad that she was feeling better, so, he chuckled. He stopped a minute later, closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, his breathing slowing down just a little. TenTen noticed this.

"What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" She sounded a little nervous.

"...I'm trying to figure out why," he opened his eyes and looked at her, "those two can see without having pupils." She burst out laughing. He just sat there and enjoyed the sound of her laughter, it sounded nice. Little did he know, the two ice cubes stopped once they heard TenTen laughing.

"What's so funny, TenTen?" asked the Hyuuga, 'WHAT THE HECK!' Shikamaru thought, 'when did he show up!'. She looked at Neji and smiled. He smirked in return. Then, he turned his attention to the Nara and took a seat in front of him. 'Uh, what is he doing?' Shikamaru wondered, 'why is he sitting in front of me? Don't tell me he wants to have a death glare contest, it's to troublesome...'

"What are you thinking about, kid?" Neji asked, well, more like demanded to know. TenTen looked at Shikamaru and smiled. Then, she turned her face so that she was looking at Neji.

"Judging by the face he's making," TenTen glanced at him, "it's nothing to important. But, he doesn't have to tell you, Neji. It's none of your business."

"Hn." Neji smirked, got up, and looked at Shikamaru. "Well, then, let's go find Lee, TenTen. Let's leave him to his thoughts." '...Jerk.' Shikamaru couldn't help but give the "prodigy" a look of disgust.

"You go ahead," she smiled sweetly, "I need to tell him something. Go find Lee and tell him I'll be there soon, ok?" Neji merely turned on his heel and did what he was told. 'Ha!'

"...What do you need to tell me?" Shikamaru looked at her, trying his best not to sound desperate or excited to know. She looked at him, with her warm brown eyes, and smiled. He felt his face warm up a little, 'Dammit! Look away Shikamaru!' But, he couldn't, she just looked so, so..."..cute."

"..What?" Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were pink. 'Shit...Ok, play it cool.'

"What?" he gave her his best "what-just-happened" face along with his best "I'm-to-lazy-to-pay-attention".

"Oh, nothing, I guess."

"So, what did you need to tell me?" She stood up and looked down at him.

"Nothing," he was confused. "I just wanted Neji to leave so I could say bye."

"Why'd you wanna say bye to him?" She laughed. 'Females...'

"Not to _**him**_! To _**you**_!" She grabbed his hand and forced him up. He mummbled on the way up, it was to troublesome to stand _**just **_to say goodbye.

"Well, then, bye." He said plainly, putting his hand up. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. 'What's she doing? Why is she hugging me? We barely know each other. I said bye, she could've said bye and just walked away, it would've been easier. Am I supposed to hug her back?' he moved his arms, then stopped when he realized something, 'where do I wrap my arms?' Sadly, before he could make up his little mind, she let go.

"I hope I see you around Shikamaru," she smiled, "Bye." and, walked off.

Then he realized something else, he's never really gotten the chance to actually say goodbye, he sighed, 'Troublesome girl,' he thought, 'you never let me say bye. Now, I have to see you again.'


	4. The color matches

*6 years later*  
>(Where the story <em><strong>really <strong>_begins...)

**Shikamaru's POV**

"I don't get it," I drawled while looking towards the cloudless sky, "Why do people always have to entertain the thought that you and I have a "thing" going on? Troublesome." Temari kept her eyes forward and shrugged.

"I don't get it either," I think she was irritated by the stares we were getting, "I'd never go with a guy like you. You're not old enough, and, definetly not mature enough. It's so annoying. And, what's worse, is that no one ever asks us if we're together, they just assume." I decided to look around us, people were staring, whispering, and laughing about whatever they were whispering about. I couldn't make any sense of the thought of she and I ever having a more than friendly relationship towards each other. Temari's my **friend**, like the older sibling I never had, I don't see her as anything more, or anything less and she feels the same way. Well, minus the fact that she already _**has **_two brothers.

It had started of like every other day since Naruto brought Sasuke back to the village, in other words, everything was the same other than the fact that Uchiha was back in town. So, like I said, like every other day. While making my way about Konoha, I felt like I was forgetting something...or someone. I shrugged the feeling away, trying to remember would take to much brain power. When, of course, out of nowhere I hear my name being yelled out, then it hit me; Temari was visiting today. I don't know why I'd forgotten, I usually remember the days that she visits, just so she doesn't screech my ears off because listening to her yell, and I quote, "Are you serious Shikamaru! I've been waiting for two hours! Hours!...What do you mean go looking for you! ...I'm the girl! You're the one that's supposed to look for me!"...Troublesome. Ladies, let me give you some words of wisdom...Sometimes you'll have to be the patient one. Anyway, like we always did when she came to visit, we walked around town, stopped at a couple of shops, ate lunch, you know, the kinds of things that two _**friends **_do. But, no! Everyone, including my friends, think that she and I like each other. Troublesome.

"You know, Shikamaru," she was still talking apparently, I decided to zone in, "maybe, if your lazy ass had a girlfriend, no one would think you like me. I mean, you haven't even had a girlfriend and you're 17 years old!"

"You didn't have to yell that last part out," I informed her, "besides, girls are to much work to keep happy."

"Shikamaru," she looked at me, "are you gay?" I sighed.

"You know I'm not." She just laughed.

"Then get yourself a girl! You don't have to worry about any life threatening attacks now that that Uzumaki kid beat the bad guys!"

"Well," I was a bit irritated, "how about you, eh? Get a boyfriend...Making me do all my work..."

"That's the thing...I already do have a boyfriend, back in Suna."

"Then tell that to everyone here in Konoha, then they'll leave me alone."

"Look," she was getting serious, "if I tell everyone that I have a boyfriend right now, they'll think that I dissed you and that you're heartbroken. If they think you're heartbroken then they'll continuously bother you, saying that they just want to cheer you up." I sighed again, she was technically right, that's how people acted when they found out that Ino and Chouji got together, everyone thought I had a thing for her, which I didn't. In fact, I'm happy for the two of them. He's lucky, she maybe bothersome on many different levels, but, being able to get her made him confident in himself. She's luckier, I'd say, because she found someone that truely loves her for who she is, not the way she looks, he's good for her. "Now," I didn't notice she was still talking, "tell me. Do you have your heart set on anyone?" I had to think for a second.

"No."

"Oh, come on!" she got frustrated, "You have to tell me! It's the only way to solve this problem! Now, tell me!" I sighed for about the hunderth time that day, 'I guess there's no getting around this...'

"Fine," I started, "there _**was **_this one girl. I did feel...differently towards her, but, that was years ago."

"Awww..."

"I didn't even really know her to well and still don't. I doubt she'd want to go out with me. She has more promising suiters, like that Hyuu-"

"Stop!" she cut me off, "Ok, look, girls like confident guys! Don't act like that! And, since this "promising suiter" is that Hyuuga kid, I'm guessing that this "one girl" is TenTen." I nodded, there was no point in hiding anything from Temari, she'd force you're secrets out of you if you didn't tell her.

"You can see my predicament now..." I said knowingly. She laughed, "What?" 'Women...'

"Me and TenTen have been friends since after our match during the chuunin exams," she continued to laugh, "and I know for a fact that she and Hyuuga are just friends. They're close, no denying that, but, they're more like sibilings, trust me." Well, that was a relief.

"It doesn't change the fact that she isn't and probably won't be into me." Why do I constantly put myself down when it comes to this kind of stuff? She laughed again.

"Oh, really?" she looked at me and smiled a...creepy smile, "Because, if I remember correctly when I was talking to her a while back, she called you cute." What?

"What?"

"It's true," she mused, "we had been talking about the match you and I had during the Chuunin exams. She said, and I quote, 'I have to admit, he's really smart and he's actually cute. It's hard to find that in a guy in today's society.' Which means, you have chance."

"I need your help then." I barely knew TenTen, I needed advice from someone that did.

"Look," she gave me a sturn expression, "I know both of you. She's not the type to be swoon over by a guy the second she lays eyes on him. You're gonna have to work pretty hard to get her to fall for you, but, remember you have to be yourself."

"Tch." I looked at her, "That's all the advice I get?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "trust me, she's worth the hard work. Just, get to know her first." Troublesome.

"Yeah, yeah." I looked towards the sky once more, it was odd, clouds came out from no where.

"Well, then," I hadn't realized we made it to where she'll be staying, "I'm heading in now. Looks like it's gonna rain. Sayonara and good luck." she walked into the building.

I turned on my heel and began to stroll home, slowly. I was in no big rush, besides, this way I had more time to think. Sadly, all I could think about was her. No, not Temari. TenTen. She plagued my mind. She had called me cute? Interesting. I couldn't help but let my mind wonder. I thought about the day we met and how we didn't speak until several years after that day. That day...it was a nice day, when I thought about it. Not because I met her, but, because the clouds seemed perfect. Weirdly enough though, it began to rain on my way back home. I remembered seeing girls whine and run home from the fear of their hair getting messed up, then there was her. She was just walking, taking her time, and stepping in the biggest puddles she could find. I sighed at the thought of this memory, I don't know why we hadn't really talked since she graduated. Oh, well. Just then, it started to pour water from the clouds. I looked up and silently cursed the clouds for not being able to hold the water in until after I got home. I decided to speed up my pace, I like rain, but, it felt like I was standing underneath a waterfall.

**Normal POV:**

Though he did speed up his pace, he was still walking rather slow. The villagers, on the other hand, were scurrying home. He dodged an incoming kid and ended up knocking over another person.

"Oh," he said lazily, "I'm sorry." He didn't bother asking the person if they needed help, he was trying to get home, so, he stepped around the person and started off.

"That's not very nice, Shikamaru!" yelled the person who was, for some odd reason, still sitting on the ground. He stopped at the sound of his name, and, the sound of their voice.

"TenTen?" he turned around. He was, indeed, correct. Only a few steps away from him, on the ground, was a girl with her brown bangs stuck to her face and a smile that could make anyone's heart melt.

"You're supposed to help me up." she said, a bit demanding.

"Not if I don't want to." 'That brings back memories.." he thought right after he'd spoken. She pouted and tried to get up before she slipped in the mud and fell back down on her butt. He tried not to laugh, 'how graceful..' He stuck out his hand. "Come on." She looked at him and smiled before taking his hand. Oddly enough, she didn't take his hand so that she could get up from the muddy ground, she grabbed his hand and yanked him down next to her.

"Hahahaha!" she laughed. He had landed face first into the mud. 'What just happened?'

"Ey, what was that for?"

"I-I don't know," she looked like she couldn't breathe, "b-but it w-was so funny!" He couldn't believe it, this girl dragged him in the mud. He looked around to make sure no one was around, 'good,' then he grabbed a handful of mud and place it on top of her head. She stopped laughing. "...my hair."

"The color matches." he stated as he got up lazily from the mud. 'I'm gonna have to take a shower again today...'

"Mud..in my hair..." she gave him her best puppy dog look, "...Shikamaru?"

"Hm?" he turned around, trying to avoid how annoyingly cute she was at the moment. But, she just got up and stepped in front of him, with that look.

"May I go to your house to wash this out?" she pointed to the mud sitting a top her head, "If I don't get it out soon, it'll dry, and my home is to far from here, so, may I?" He looked at her and thought for a moment. Then he began to walk past her. She turned and watched him slowly stroll. "Shikamaru?"

"Troublesome woman," he stopped, looked at her, and sighed, "come on." She smiled and walked closely behind him. 'How do I explain this to mom?'


	5. Stay for dinner

"Shikamaru Nara!" 'Oh, god..' "Care to explain why I found a half naked girl in your bedroom?" Shikamaru just stood in front of his mother, Yoshino Nara, and his father, Shikaku Nara, not sure of what to say. To say the least, he was a bit shocked that his mother had walked in on TenTen changing in his bedroom. Let's back up a bit, shall we...

He and TenTen had made it to his house after about six minutes of walking in complete silence. He liked to think that it was a comfortable silence, but, for him it just wasn't the case. She seemed pretty at ease on the way there, but, he was mentally kicking himself for not trying to start a conversation. It wasn't that he felt weird around her or anything, it's his parents, what would they think? Or say?

"Alright," he said as he lazily looked around his seeminglly empty home, "I guess my parents went out."

"Uhm," she looked him with those eyes, "where's the shower?" 'Oh, yeah...' he remembered, 'that's why she's here...'

"Well, we only have two showers. One in my room and one in my parents' room." he thought about it, 'I guess it's fine if she goes into my bathroom, that way if my parents do show up anytime soon, they won't walk in on her taking a shower.' He turned his attention to her, she looked like she finally felt awkward and nervous. "Come on." She looked at him, confused.

"Wh-why?" 'Is she blushing?'

"You're going to use my shower. It'd be really weird if my father or mother walked in on you taking a shower."

"But, what about you?"

"I told you already that we have two showers. Don't you listen?" he sighed.

"Oh," she hung her head, "I-I wasn't really listening, I guess. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Come on." He led her to his room. Not surpisingly, it was simple, had simple furniture, and wasn't really decorated. What was surprising was the fact that the young Nara kept his room very, very clean. One would've thought that he would be to lazy to clean his room, must've been because his mom made him keep it clean.

"Here." he threw her a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. 'I think those will fit her...'

"Thanks," she walked into the bathroom and came out in about two seconds, "uhm... I need a towel.

"Right," he opened his closet and grabbed a towel that was on the top shelf, "Here."

"Thanks." she went in and closed the door. He could hear her turn on the shower. 'I'd better get in too,' he looked in a nearby mirror and saw dried up mud on his clothes and face, 'yeah, defintely need to get in.' He made his way to his parents' room and proceeded in taking his much needed shower, he came out about 14 minutes later, wearing only a towel around his waist and his hair lose, not tied in it's usual ponytail. 'Shit,' he realized, 'I left my clothes in my room.' He sighed and made his way in front of his door and knocked.

"TenTen?" There was no answer, "TenTen, are you out yet?" He shrugged and came to the conclusion that she was in the shower, so, as quickly as the lazily boy could move, he opened the door and grabbed the clothes he need and began to make his way back to his parents room. But, of course, he hadn't the best luck. The second he closed his door and faced the hallway, he was face to face with his parents. They didn't look to pleased, at least, his mother didn't.

"Hey guys.." he didn't know why he felt the need to run, but he did.

"Son," Shikaku began, "who was it that you had over today?"

"What are you talking about?" 'Why am I acting like I don't know?'

"We just got back from the store about five minutes ago," Yoshino started, "and when I opened your bedroom door to get you, the only thing I saw was a girl with long, wet brown hair putting on one of _**your **_shirts."

"Oh, that was TenTen." he stated calmly, not trying to explain further, he was only wearing a towel and started to get cold, he just wanted to put his clothes on, but, when he tried walking around them, Yoshino stopped him.  
>-<p>

"Shikamaru Nara!" she raised her voice, "Care to explain why I found a half naked girl in your bedroom?" Then it dawned on him.

"Wait," he looked around curiously, "where is she?"

"She left. Said to tell you thank you and that she'll see you around." smiled Shikaku, he had that 'I-am-so-proud-of-you-son-you-finally-did-it' look on his face. His mother on the other hand had that 'I-swear-if-your-excuse-isn't-a-good-one-I-will-kill-you' look.

"Explain!"

"Oh, right. Well, I was walking back home then it started raining. I bumped into her and she fell in the mud and asked if she could take a shower here, said her place was to far, I said sure." he informed his mother, who seemed to have calmed down, it was probably due to the fact that her lazy son did something as gentlemen like as to allow a girl to take a shower in his room and not try to rape her.

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Well, then," she looked right at him and smiled, "you'd better be telling the truth, mister. Or, you'll be grounded." He smirked.

"I'm not a kid anymore."

"Of course you're not," Shikaku wrapped his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders and pulled him into a tight side hug, that look still on his face and said, "you are a man now!" He simply sighed and went into his room to get dressed. 'How embarassing, my father thinks I...TenTen and I...'

"Hey!" he jumped and looked around his room.

"Who's there?"

"It's me," said a familiar voice, "It's TenTen." he sighed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, where are you?" he was still looking around a bit frantically searching for the voice, looking for her.

"Outside the window." he turned to face the window, and there she was. Her hair was damp and the shirt she was wearing was a bit to large, but, in his eyes, she looked amazing. Especially with her hair down.

"You can come in, if you want. It's still somewhat raining outside." he told her, not realizing that all he had managed to put on, before she showed up, were his boxers and a pair of pajama pants.

"Uhm," she thought about it, "Alright." she came in through the window and sat on his bed.

"Did my parents ask you any weird questions before you left?" 'God, I hope not.'

"No," she smiled, "in fact, they just stood there...Like a pair of deer in the headlights." Then, she burst into fits of laughter. 'What's wrong with her?'

"What's so funny?"

"G-get it!" her face was pink from not being able to breathe.

"No."

"Deer! Your clan! DEER!"

"Oh, yeah, I get it. It's not that funny." 'Great, she's into corny jokes.' he sighed as he continued to try and get his hair dry. She stopped laughing and looked at him, he wasn't wearing a shirt and his hair was down. She had to admit, he looked pretty damn good. He turned to face her. "What?"

"OH!" she felt like she was caught trying to throw a child off a ten-story building, "NOTHING!" 'God, she's being loud.' his eyes widened, 'MY PARENTS DON'T KNOW SHE'S IN MY ROOM, DO THEY? WHAT IF THEY WALK IN? THEY'LL THINK I'M A LAIR! SHIT! SHITTY SHIT SHIT! WHAT DO I DO? HOW DO I MAKE HER TELL THEM THAT ALL SHE DID WAS TAKE A SHOWER!'

"Hey," he looked at her, trying to play it cool, "stay for dinner."

"What? No, really, you don't have to invite me. It's fine I-"

"No, really. I want you to tell my parents that...that.." 'Tell them what?'

"That?" she looked at him as he closed his eyes for a second trying to remember what it was that she had to tell his parents.

"Tell them..that..there's nothing going on between you and I." she looked at him confused. "It's just that my parents doubt that you came here to just take a shower. And, my dad...My dad is just being weird about it. But, look, just do it? I don't want them to think that what I told them was a lie."

"What'd you tell them?"

"That you fell in the mud and I agreed to let you wash up here."

"You didn't tell them it was your fault?"

"Technically, no. But, it also wasn't all my fault."

"How!" she raised her voice, "Because of you being mad about a little mud on your face, you put mud in my hair!"

"You started it." he decided to stay calm, he figured that women get mad no matter how you react to them.

"God!" and that's when his mother walked in.

"What's going on in here?" Yoshino asked forcefully. When she realized that there was a girl who was sitting on her son's bed, while said son was standing there without a shirt on, she slowly backed out the door and closed it.

"Great." he sighed, "Look, just stay and tell my parents, please."

"...Fine."

"Thank you."

"Whatever, Nara.." she pouted. 'God, she's so cute.' He went and sat next to her.

"If it makes you feel any better," he looked down, "you look really nice with your hair down." Then, he got up and strolled to his closet and put on a shirt. She sat on his bed, her face was bright pink. "Let's go then." he said as he pulled his hair into his signature style.

"Huh?"

"Into the kitchen. The sooner we explain this incident to my parents the better."

"Oh," she looked at him, "So, am I still eatin-"

"Yeah, I'm sure my mom would enjoy having another female to talk to."

Later that night, though the two teenagers explained what happened, they got a good, long lecture on why it's bad not to have parental supervision in the house. They explained that TenTen really did just want to clean up after Shikamaru piled mud on top her head, which he got yelled at for doing. The entire night his father had a smug look on his face, 'Gee, pops, calm down. She's not my girlfriend.' The four ate their dinners peacefully, not talking very much. Of course, Shikamaru convinced TenTen to leave before his mother had the chance to bring out baby pictures of him.

"Eh, yeah, let's go." he hurriedly pushed her out the door, all she could do was laugh.

"This was fun, Shikamaru." she smiled sweetly.

"Sure." They were both standing outside his house. "So, bye." 'Finally,' he thought proudly, 'I got to say bye!' And, as he turned around to walk inside he felt arms wrap around him in a quick hug. He turned around, and she was already gone. He sighed.

"Shit," he mumbled, "I have to get my clothes back."


	6. Finally got a right hand man

**Shikamaru's POV**

"So," I knew what she was going to ask, the look in her eyes just made it so obvious, "make any advances on your girl?" I couldn't help but make a face when she said 'your girl', not that I didn't want TenTen to be my girl, it's just, I wasn't really sure if I liked her or not. I felt confused, especially after what had happened the day before, I wasn't sure if she hugged me or if it was imagination, not to mention she was gone when I turned around. And, I couldn't fight the feeling that she didn't want me, I mean, aren't girls her age supposed to like "gawk" at guys when they don't have their shirts on? I didn't have my shirt on and she didn't seem like she was "gawking", hell, she was sitting on my bed not even paying attention to my constant blabbering, probably thinking of that Hyuuga bastard. I couldn't stand it, I knew what Temari said about them just being friends was probably true, but, I just couldn't deal with knowing that he had such a 'head start' to where I was currently. In case you are wondering I'm probably on the "friend-of-a-friend-that-I-sometimes-talk-to" level, whereas he's on the "best-guy-friend-that-I-wouldn't-mind-having-relations-with" level. I sighed outwardly. "Hello? Earth to Shikamaru!" I looked to my left, I had almost forgotten that Temari and I had spent a good portion of the early evening together and that we were making our way over to were she was staying, basically, I was walking her home, it was her last day. To be honest, I was disappointed that she had just arrived the day before and was leaving, usually she'd stay around for about four or five days. She probably had to get to "her man", that's what she liked to call him. 'Is this what relationships do to friendships? You'll be to busy to spend time with the other people in life that you care about?' I had wondered for a moment before realizing that I should speak before she ripped my ears off and stapled them to my neck.

"Sorry," I focused my attention forward, "I spaced."

"Well," she smirked, "now that your back, answer the question."

"Kind of," I thought about the day before, "I guess."

"What'd you do? Casually bump her shoulder and apologize, then start a conversation?" I chuckled. "What?"

"Well," I looked towards the sky, "I did bump into her."

"Then what?"

"She fell in the mud." Temari gave me a disbelieving look, one of shock, one of...annoyance, possibly.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask her. She fell in the mud. Dragged me in after her. I took her to my place so that she could shower and clean up. I loaned her some of my clothes, my mother walked in on her, I asked if she'd stay for dinner, and she did. You should of seen her, she looked so cu- ridiculous. She looked ridiculous." Temari broke into fits of laughter. I frowned, 'Why is it that women laugh at what I say? I'm not making any sort of joke. She probably caught onto the cute thing...great.'

"You call that **kind of **making advances?" I nodded, "Ok, so, she has already been naked in your house, she currently has some of your clothes, she met your parents, and she stayed for dinner."

"Your point is?"

"Gee, Shikamaru! Get a clue!"

"What do you mean?" She stopped walking, we had made it to her 'home.'

"You may be a genius, but, when it comes to 'romance', you may possibly be the dumbest person I've ever met." She turned and faced the door. "Let's just say this. You may not have to work as hard as I thought you would've." And with that she left me standing there, looking stupid.

I simply shrugged and began walking around town, letting my feet take me where they please. Oddly enough, I ended up at my old team's training ground, how and why my feet took me there, I don't know. I tried looking for a dry spot to sit, but, I couldn't find one. I sighed angrily.

"Why the hell did you take me here?" I grumbled. "I don't want to train. I want to relax, especially after yesterday, I barely got any sleep." I turned around and there she was with a confused look on her face. Oh! Not she, as in TenTen, it was she as in Ino.

"What are you talking about, Shika?" she strolled over next to where I was, I just rubbed the back of my neck, 'Gosh,' I thought, 'I already know this conversations gonna be a pain in the neck, unless...' "Answer, Shika, if you know what's good for you."

"I do know," I looked at her lazily, "milk, fruits and vegetables, eight hours of sleep, though, I perfer more hours than that, an-"

"Quit playing dumb! You know what I mean!" she punched my arm, I just chuckled.

"Where's Chouji?" I had 'just' noticed my other best friends missing presence.

"He's on a mission," she looked down, then up with a big smile, "he'll be back tomorrow! I'm gonna make him his favorite dinner, too! We'll finally be able to spend the night together again! I'm so excited!"

"Oh, that's great." I didn't sound excited, mainly because I knew that Chouji was on a mission and back tomorrow, I just need to get her off the topic of what I was thinking of, I wasn't going to tell her that I liked TenTen, at least, not at that moment, I was going to tell both of them, Chouji and her, at the same time.

"I know! I finally get to see him! It's been, like, forever!" In fact, it hadn't been, it'd only been two days. 'Is that what being in a relationship is like?' I thought, 'Forgetting how to tell time while you're significant other is gone?

"Ino," I don't know why I told her, when I had planned to tell her and Chouji **at the same time**, but, I did, "I like TenTen." She stopped her...lovey dovey babbling and gave me her full and undivided attention.

"What?" she sounded surprised, I couldn't blame her, I was surprised as well.

"I like TenTen." I said it as though not to make a big deal, my guess, Ino thought it was a big deal.

"You? Like TenTen?"

"Yeah..." she made it sound like a crime, "Is there something wrong with that?... With me?... With her?" I didn't mean to, but, when I said 'With her?' I made it somewhat threathening if she said yes.

"No," she looked at me straight in the eyes, "it's just shocking. I mean, everyone thought that you and Temari-"

"I don't like her," I had to interupt, that whole Temari and I thing was annoying, "she has a boyfriend, anyway."

"Oh, well, there's no doubt, in my mind, that you and _**Ten-chan**_ would make a cute couple." she nudged me and made the entire sentence sound way to sweet. I made a face to try and stop my face from turning pink, it didn't work, because the next thing I knew, "Awh! Shika! You really do like her! You're blushing!" I hung my head.

"Yeah." then it hit me, she and TenTen where closer than the other girls, excluding Temari, "Would you help me?"

"Of course!" she placed her hand on my shoulder, "we'll, I mean, you'll get the girl." I couldn't help but smile. I finally got a "right-hand-man", don't ask, that's what she called herself.

"Now what?" I asked, Temari was right, I was the dumbest person when it came to romance.

"Whatelse!" she jumped up in excitement, "Tomorrow we tell Chouji-kun and work out a bone afide plan for you to get your girl! Then..." she looked at me.

"Then?"

"Then we go on a double date! Ah! It'll be so fun! Having two of my best friends around to go on dates with!" I just smirked. There was no stopping it now. TenTen was going to be my girlfriend...well, if she wanted to be.


	7. Dream

Shikamaru was walking, he didn't know where or why. He was just walking around Konoha, in the middle of the night. Everything seemed hazy, he wasn't sure what had happened, but, he couldn't remember anything other than mindlessly walking around town. The day was a blur, he didn't even recall getting up. It was almost like he just appeared out of nowhere and started heading to an unknown area for no reason at all. He'd thought of heading home, but, he wasn't too sure where he was. He knew it was somewhere in Konoha, if he remember correctly, he was on the opposite side of town from where he lived. 'Man, it's disgusting on this side of town,' he thought while observing this side of the village, 'I think I'll turn around.' So, he turned on his heel and started walking back home, well, where he thought would take him home.

"Wait!" called a voice from a distance. He stopped and looked around, 'I know that voice,' he thought, 'but, it can't be her? Why would TenTen be all the way out here?' "Shikamaru, why are you all the way out here?" She was standing a couple feet behind him now. He turned around to look at her.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said.

"Oh, well, I live around here." she smiled, "Now, answer me. And, you can't have the same reason, I know where you live."

"I don't know what I'm doing here." he replied as if it were obvious, she gave him a disbelieving look, "Honestly, I don't know what I've done all day, everything's a blur."

"Well, then, where were you headed now?"

"Home."

"Let's go then."

"Let's?" he watched her take a step closer to him.

"Uh, yeah, your completely lost. Your house is that way." she said pointing behind him. He mummbled a "whatever" and ushered her to lead the way, he followed close behind. After minutes of walking, they were one block away from Shikamaru's house. "So?" she started.

"I'm not really into small talk, TenTen," he informed her, "Not to be rude. I'm just tired. So, unless it's important, don't talk." 'Not to be rude,' he scolded himself, 'You sounded like such a dick, Shikamaru.'

"I understand." she stopped walking and turned to face him, "I was just wondering if you could give me some advice?" He sighed and stopped walking. 'Well,' he thought, 'if she needs advice, I guess it's important, right?'

"I guess, it depends though."

"Well," she thought for a second, "there's this guy-"

"I can't help you with this."

"Just hear me out! I need a guy's advice!" she whined.

"Look," he looked away, a bit ashamed, "I don't know 'relationship' things. Go ask...Neji."

"He's a block of ice most of the time, he doesn't get many emotions."

"Lee? Gai?"

"They'd probably just yell 'YOUTH' in my face and start crying because I've started 'growing up.' They get way to dramatic."

"Kiba? Naruto? Chouji? Shino? Sasuke?"

"Gee, let's see, Kiba and Naruto would try to find out who this guy is. I don't think Chouji would be able to help me much, and if I did ask him, Ino would probably find out and yell at me for not asking her. Shino never responds, unless it's 'Hi'. And, Sasuke's like Neji, he doesn't really feel emotions very well."

"And I do?"

"Well," she smiled, "You're the perfect person to ask advice from, Mr. Genius." He fought the blood rushing to his face and thankfully won. 'What a kiss-ass.' He thought.

"Fine. What's up with this guy, then?" he mummbled. She smiled even more.

"Well, this guy, he's smart. And, he could be a really jerk sometimes, but, he's just being honest and speaking his mind. Overall, he's really nice."

"Ok, what's wrong then?" 'Honestly, everything seems fine to me. Women...'

"He doesn't know I like him, I think."

"So, tell him. There, problem solved."

"No! What if he does know? And, I'm not his type..."

"Too bad, I guess."

"What's your type?"

"I don't have one." 'You.'

"Come on. I need to know so that I can change for him to li-"

"If you have to change for him to notice you, he's not worth your time." he looked her in the eyes, "You work hard, you're strong, both physically and mentally, yet, you're an average konouchi. You're perfect for m- I mean anyone. If he doesn't see that, his loss, right?"

"Shika-"

"Trust me, I'm a genius." He started walking again, passing her, no intention on stopping. 'I don't know if I said right thing.' He thought, 'What if she finds out now? I did kinda make it obvious. Perfect for me? What was I thinking? What now? Will she think that I lied just for her to like me? I didn't lie. I spoke my mind, I was being honest. That guy is clearly a waste of time. If I ever find out who he is, I swear I'll knock some sen-'

"Shikamaru! The guy is..." Her voice was fading? He stopped and turned around.

"What?" He called.

"I said that the guy is..." All of a sudden, her image started fading along with her voice.

"What?" He was confused.

"WAKE UP!"

"What? Wake up?"

"YES! WAKE UP!" Everything around him began to dematerialize, 'What's-' then it hit him, 'This is just a dream.' He felt pain, real physical pain. "Ouch." He grabbed his head, everything was completely dark, until he opened his eyes. There stood Ino, fist clenched, and Chouji, smiling sypathetically.

"It's about time, Shikamaru! We have planning today! Come on! Get up!" He gave her a good hard look and closed his eyes.

"Five more minutes." he yawned as he started getting comfortable.

"Now, Nara!" she demanded. He felt pain again, then he realized that the pain was he hitting him. 'Damn,' he thought, 'violent woman. Let me be, will ya'?'

"Can't we plan tomorrow?" he whined from under his covers. "Who the hell let you in anyway?"

"Shikamaru Nara," 'Oh, his mom. Of course.' "It is well passed noon, I think it's time you got up and go with Ino and Chouji." And, with that said, she walked off.

"Yeah, yeah." He made no intention on getting up. Why was she always doing this to him? He didn't understand, his mother knew well that he slept until around one in the afternoon, why'd she have to let Ino in at- "It's three already?" 'I over slept?'

"Yes!" Ino sounded exasperated, "We've been here for, like, half an hour! Right, Chouji?"

"Yeah," Chouji nodded, "Shikamaru, I really do think you should get up. So we can 'solve' your problem." Shikamaru sat up and looked at his best friend.

"I don't have a problem. I just like-"

"You were dreaming about her." Ino sighed as she sat at the edge of his bed, Chouji just stood in his place.

"Wh- How do you know?"

"You were talking in your sleep. You mumbled her name once and kept saying 'what'? So, what happened?" They both looked at him, waiting for him to reply. Shikamaru got up and walked to his closet. "Well?" He sighed.

"It was nothing."

"Come on, tell us what you dreamed." Ino demanded calmly.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?" Chouji spoke up, "You were tossing and turning a little, Shikamaru. That's not like you. But, I guess, if you don't want to tell us, you don-"

"Oh!" Ino cut in, "I get it." She got up and smiled slyly.

"Yeah, whatever." Shikamaru yawned.

"I never would've guessed that the genius, Shikamaru, was such a pervert." She laughed, wrapping an arm around Chouji. 'Pervert?'

"Pervert?"

"That's right." she looked at Chouji, "Oh, dear. It seems our little Shikamaru is growing up." Chouji chuckled.

"N-no! That's not what I dreamt, troublesome woman!" Shikamaru tried to defend himself, it didn't work.

"Well, now," Ino grabbed Chouji's hand and headed for the door, "get dressed and meet us at the park, ok?"

"Whatever." he mummbled, cheeks still red from embarassment.

"Ok! See you there, Shika!"

"See ya', Shikamaru."

They both walked out and closed the door.

"That was embarassing," he thought out loud, "Damn Ino..." He got dressed and head out for the park. 'The park, huh?' he thought, 'Why are we going to "plan" in public?'


End file.
